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Ricardo Lemos-Reis,1 Nuno Moreira-Gonçalves,1 António B Melo,1 Ângela M Carneiro,1,2 Fernando M Falcão-Reis1,2 1Department of Ophthalmology of Hospital de São João, Porto, Portugal; 2Department of Sense Organs, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal Purpose: To investigate the immediate effect of intravitreal injection of bevacizumab on intraocular pressure (IOP). Methods: This was a prospective and nonrandomized study. A total of 291 eyes with macular edema or active choroidal neovascularization were submitted to a single 1.25 mg (0.05 mL) bevacizumab intravitreal injection. Intraocular pressure was measured with an Icare® tonometer immediately before and after injection in a seated position. The presence of subconjunctival reflux was recorded. The fellow eye served as the control.Results: Mean preoperative IOP was 18.0±5.9 mmHg in the treated eye versus 16.9±6.0 mmHg in the fellow eye. Mean postoperative IOP was 42.1±14.5 mmHg in the treated eye versus 17.5±6.0 mmHg in the fellow eye. The IOP variation was statistically significant in both cases and controls (P

Angela M Carneiro,1,2 Luis S Mendonça,1 Manuel S Falcão,1,2 Sofia L Fonseca,1 Elisete M Brandão,1 Fernando M Falcão-Reis1,21Department of Ophthalmology of Hospital de São João, Porto, Portugal; 2Faculty of Medicine of University of Porto, Porto, PortugalPurpose: We compared the efficacy of intravitreal ranibizumab and bevacizumab for treating neovascular age-related macular degeneration using an on-demand regimen.Methods: A total of 186 wet age-related macular degeneration eyes of 186 treatment-naïve patients were compared retrospectively (67 eyes treated with ranibizumab with 91 treated with bevacizumab). At baseline, mean age, best corrected visual acuity, and angiographic lesion types were similar in both groups. Best corrected visual acuity and ocular coherence tomography were evaluated.Results: Sixty eyes treated with ranibizumab and 85 eyes treated with bevacizumab completed a 12-month evaluation. At 12 months, mean best corrected visual acuity increased by +6.65 letters with ranibizumab treatment and by +5.59 with bevacizumab treatment (P = 0.64). Visual acuity improved by ≥15 letters in 15 eyes treated with ranibizumab and in 21 eyes treated with bevacizumab (P = 0.75). An overall reduction in ocular coherence tomography central thickness occurred for all time points. The mean number of injections per eye was 5.97 with ranibizumab and 5.92 with bevacizumab (P = 0.90).Conclusion: Intravitreal therapies with ranibizumab or bevacizumab have similar visual and anatomical results. These results confirm those of comparison of Age-Related Macular Degeneration Treatment Trials in as-needed cohorts in clinical practice. Randomized long-term clinical trials are necessary to examine the systemic safety of these treatments.Keywords: AMD, anti-VEGF therapy, bevacizumab, choroidal neovascularization, ranibizumab, wet AMD

Purpose: We investigated the characteristics, prognosis, and clinical outcome of the Charles Bonnet syndrome (CBS) in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD)., Methods: Five hundred psychiatrically healthy patients with neovascular AMD were screened for CBS. The individuals that fulfilled the inclusion criteria were systematically interviewed using a structured questionnaire that covered the impact, prognosis, risk factors, phenomenology, symptoms, and knowledge about the syndrome. A control group of 45 patients was used for comparison. Demographic data, current medication, and ocular risk factors were collected in all patients., Results: Forty-five patients with CBS were identified. The majority of patients reported images that consisted of colored (62%) animals (44%) or faces (42%) that lasted for seconds (53%). Most patients reported a self-limited disease with a median duration of symptoms between 9 and 11.5 months, with only 7% knowing about CBS at symptom onset. The degree of visual deficit did not predict the characteristics, complexity, frequency, duration, or impact of visual hallucinations. One-third of patients reported negative outcome, which was associated with shorter duration of CBS (p = 0.023), fear-inducing images (p < 0.001), and impact on daily activities (p = 0.015)., Conclusion: The prevalence of CBS in neovascular AMD patients is high and clinically relevant. Patients with recent onset of visual hallucinations and describing fear-inducing images are at greater risk for negative outcome. Periodic screening may minimize the negative consequences of this disease., (© 2020 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Purpose: We investigate the prevalence of the Charles Bonnet syndrome (CBS) in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and analyze the role of oral proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and other potential risk factors., Methods: A total of 510 consecutive patients with neovascular-AMD followed at a single tertiary center in Portugal were screened for CBS. Using a structured questionnaire, psychiatrically healthy individuals were interviewed systematically and divided into a CBS group and a non-CBS group. Demographic data, current medication, and ocular risk factors were collected and compared between the two groups., Results: A total of 500 patients met the inclusion criteria and 471 with complete data were included in the final analysis. The prevalence of CBS was 9.0% (45/500). Using a binary logistic regression model, correlations were found between older age (P = 0.002), PPI intake (P = 0.022), poor visual acuity (P = 0.004), and development of CBS. PPIs doubled the risk of CBS from 7% (20/304) to 15% (25/167), with an odds ratio of 2.154. The increased risk for visual hallucinations caused by PPIs was independent of age (P = 0.598) and visual acuity (P = 0.739)., Conclusions: The prevalence of CBS in neovascular-AMD patients is high and mainly affects older individuals with poor visual acuity. PPIs seem to increase the risk of development of hallucinations independently of the degree of visual loss.

Purpose: To evaluate choroidal morphology and thickness at the posterior pole of individuals affected by multisystemic autoimmune diseases and without known ophthalmologic manifestations., Methods: Retrospective cross-sectional study including 75 patients with autoimmune diseases (divided according to their specific disease) and 80 healthy controls. A spectral-domain optical coherence tomography using enhanced depth imaging was performed and choroidal thickness was measured in the center of fovea and at 500 μm intervals along a horizontal section., Results: Lupus patients presented a thicker subfoveal choroid than controls (408.624 vs. 356.536, P < 0.001) and in all the other measurements (P < 0.001 to P = 0.003). Rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases had an overall thinner choroid than controls (297.867 vs. 356.536 subfoveally, P = 0.004; P = 0.005-0.019 in other measurements). Results were adjusted for the covariates age (P = 0.007), spherical equivalent (P < 0.001), and systemic steroids dose (P = 0.004). Hypertension (P = 0.102), diabetes mellitus (P = 0.672), time since the beginning of therapy with hydroxychloroquine (P = 0.104) and its cumulative dose (P = 0.307), or use of other immunosuppressives (P = 0.281) had no influence on the mean choroidal thickness. No morphologic abnormalities were found., Conclusion: The choroid may be subclinically involved in autoimmune diseases. However, the choroidal response seems to differ depending on the autoimmune disease. Infiltrative mechanisms specific for lupus may justify the thickened choroid found in these patients.

Purpose: To report the long-term clinical outcomes after switching from intravitreal bevacizumab or ranibizumab to aflibercept therapy in eyes with AMD., Methods: Retrospective analysis of changes in BCVA, SD-OCT image, and frequency of injections after 1, 2, and 3 years of follow-up., Results: 164 eyes were analyzed, 101 eyes switched from bevacizumab (group 1) and 63 from ranibizumab (group 2). One year after the switch, there was an overall nonsignificant mean decrease of 2 ETDRS letters in BCVA. Three years after, there was an overall mean decrease of 7 ETDRS letters, which was statistically significant. A significant improvement in the mean CRT was found at 1, 2, and 3 years. There was a significant decrease in the mean number of injections per year (7.8 to 6.5, p < 0.005) between the first and third year., Conclusion: Aflibercept can be useful in the management of refractory neovascular AMD, with a good morphological response. However, in the long-term, BCVA stabilization was not achieved.

Purpose: To analyze the effect of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agents on intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Materials andMethods: This is a retrospective study that included 72 patients treated unilaterally with anti-VEGF agents according to a pro re nata regimen. Fellow noninjected eyes (n = 72) were used as controls. IOP variation and the development of sustained ocular hypertension (OHT) were assessed both in the injected and in the fellow eyes., Results: While the final IOP was not significantly different between the 2 groups, sustained OHT developed in 4.2% of the injected eyes and 1.4% of the controls. In the study group, no significant IOP variation was noted during follow-up in patients receiving ≤20 injections, but there was a significant increase in IOP with time in more frequently treated patients (p = 0.041). Comparison of both subgroups demonstrated that patients receiving >20 injections suffered significantly greater IOP variation (p = 0.034) during follow-up, and that these patients tended to require IOP-lowering treatment more frequently (p = 0.090)., Conclusion: Multiple anti-VEGF injections lead to an increase in IOP, although this variation is not sufficient to cause development of OHT in the majority of patients., (© 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Purpose. To characterize vitelliform lesions (VLs) in adult-onset foveomacular vitelliform dystrophy (AOFVD) and acquired vitelliform (AVL) patients using multimodal image analysis. Methods. Retrospective study of twenty-eight eyes from nineteen patients diagnosed with AVL or AOFVD. They were evaluated by color fundus photographs, fundus autofluorescence (FAF), fluorescein angiography (FA), and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Results. Bilateral VLs were associated with AOFVD (p = 0.013). Regular and centered VLs were associated with AOFVD (p = 0.004 and p = 0.016), whereas irregular and noncentered lesions were more frequent in AVL patients. Visual acuity, greatest linear dimension (GLD), lesion height (LH), and pseudohypopyon were similar between groups. Whereas median LH and GLD in AVL group diminished significantly during follow-up (p = 0.009 and p = 0.001), AOFVD lesions tended to become larger and thicker. Conclusions. When consulting a patient presenting a VL with unknown age of onset, familial history, or previous retinal diseases, some aspects of multimodal imaging assessment may lead the ophthalmologist to a correct diagnosis.

Purpose: To report the clinical outcomes of intravitreal aflibercept therapy in eyes with refractory and recurrent neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) switched from intravitreal bevacizumab or ranibizumab., Methods: This is a retrospective review of eyes with neovascular AMD switched to intravitreal aflibercept with at least 1 year of follow-up after the switch. All patients had had a minimum of 3 injections of bevacizumab or ranibizumab before the switch. Aflibercept was used in patients considered refractory to bevacizumab (group 1) and in recurrent patients on therapy with ranibizumab due to an institutional policy decision (group 2). Changes in best-corrected visual acuity, fluid on optical coherence tomography (OCT), central retinal thickness (CRT) and the frequency of injections were compared., Results: Eighty-five eyes of 69 patients were analyzed, 39 eyes in group 1 and 46 in group 2. The mean follow-up time was 31.6 months prior to the switch and 14.7 months on treatment with aflibercept. One year after the switch, there was a nonsignificant mean decrease of 2 letters in visual acuity in both groups (group 1: from 58.2 to 55.8 letters, p = 0.086; group 2: from 56.4 to 54.5 letters, p = 0.168), but the mean number of injections per month was significantly lower (from 0.76 to 0.57, p < 0.001). With the switch, 90.6% of the patients showed anatomic improvement with a reduction of fluid on OCT, and both groups presented significant improvement in CRT (group 1: 65.3 µm, p = 0.051; group 2: 91.0 µm, p < 0.001)., Conclusion: Aflibercept appears to be a valuable tool for the management of patients with poor responses to other anti-vascular endothelial growth factor drugs. These patients could have anatomic improvement, and the injection intervals could be extended.